Car-brake



(No Model.)' 3 SheetsSheet 1 J. P. CLANCY.

OAR BRAKE.

No. 440.014: Patented Nov 4. 1390.

Wilgcssc John 20mm (No Mbdel.) J P OLANGY 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

OAR BRAKE. Nb 440,014. Patented Nov. 4. 1890.

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3 Y 0 N A L O R GAR BRAKE.

Patented Nov. 4 1890.

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JOHN P. CLANCY, OF SCOTTDALE, PENNSYLVANIA.

CAR-BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 440,014, datedtNovember4,1890.

Application filed May 26, 1890.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN P. CLANCY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Scottdale, in the county of Fayette and State ofPennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Car-Brake, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to car-brakes, and it has for its object toconstruct what might be termed a momentum brake, which shall be simplein construction and practically automatic in its operation, theconstruction being such that when the brakes are set upon one car of atrain the brake mechanism of the following cars shall be automaticallythrown into operation.

The invention consists in the improved construction, arrangement, andcombination of parts constituting the brake mechanism, which will behereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View showing in an invertedposition a cartruck equipped with my improved brake mechanism. Fig. 2 isa longitudinal sectional view of the same, showing the brake mechanismset. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the brake mechanismreleased. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken'through one of theforked operatinglevers. Fig. 5 is an end View of a car equipped with myimproved mechanism. Fig. 6 is a bottom plan view showing theconstruction of my improved brake mechanism as applied to thelocomotive-tender. Fig. 7

is a longitudinal sectional view showing the tender-brake mechanism set.Fig. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the tenderbrakemechanism released.

Like numerals of reference indicate like parts in all the figures.

1 designates the frame of a railway-car truck equipped with my improvedbrake mechanism. The said frame is constructed in the usual manner, withthe center sills 2 2, the outer sills 3 3, and intermediate sills 4 4,all of which are suitably secured to and connected by the end sills 5 5.The ends of the car-frame are provided with draw-heads 6, which are ofordinary construction and which may be adapted for coupling the cars bymeans of pin and link or in any other Suit- Serial No. 353,189. (Nomodel.)

able manner. Arranged to slide longitudinally at each end of the carunder the drawhead 6 is a push-bar 7, provided at its outer end withdownward-extending head 8, adapted to engage the push-bar of the nextadjoining car. The outer ends of said push-bars are guided in slots orperforations 9 in the vertical end plates 10, which are secured uuderthe ends of the center sills of the carframe. The lower ends of saidplates 10 are connected with the center sills by means of inclinedbraces 11, the rear ends'of which form boxes or bearings 12, in whichare fulcrumed the bifurcated levers 14, the lower ends of which areconnected pivotally with the rear ends of the push-bars 7, so that thesaid levers 13 shall be actuated by the longitudinally-sliding movementof said push-bars. The upwardly-extending arms of the bifurcated levers13 are each provided with two perforations, which are connected bychains 15 with the rods 16 and 17, the adjacent ends of which areconnected adjustably by turnbuckles 17 The rods 16 and 17 are alsoprovided with links 18 for convenient connection with the brakemechanism.

19 designates a lever, which is pivoted horizontally about centrallyunder the car-frame. Said lever is connected on opposite sides of itsfulcrum with the link-sections 18 of the rods 17 by means of chains 20,having sections formed of strong coiled springs 21, which are for thepurpose of permitting the movement of the connecting-rods to continueafter the brakes have been set, thus avoiding danger of breakage to theoperating mechanism. The ends of the lever 19 are connected by means ofrods 22 with arms or levers 23, extending from the brake-bars 21, whichare mounted in suit-able hangers 25, suspended from the car-truck, andwhich are provided at their ends with brake-shoes 26 of ordinaryconstruction. The brakebars 24'are provided with downward-extending arms27, which are connected by pivoted rods 28 with the brakebars 29, whichare suspended by hangers 25, on the opposite sides of the trucks. Henceit will be seen that when the lever 19 is operated the brakes will besimultaneously set or released, as the case may be, according to thedirection in which the lever 19 is moved. This, as will be seen, is theordinary brake mechanism now usually employed, and no novelty is claimedfor the same in the present application. One end of the lever 19 isconnected with the frame of the car by means of a coiled spring 30, thefunction of which is to automatically release the brake mechanism, whennot actuated, in the manner to be hereinafter described.

Secured to the under side of each of the end sills of the car, adjacentto the slotted or perforated plate 10, is one end of a chain 31,whichpasses around a pulley 32 at the rear end of the push-bar 7, thenceunder a pulley 33, mounted in suitable bearings upon the under side ofthe end sill, thence through a vertical perforation 34 in the said endsill, and to a lever 35, which is journaled or pivoted in suitablebearings upon the upper side of the end sill, transversely to the car,to which the opposite end of said chain 31 is made fast. The lever 35 ateach end of the car is provided with a suitable spring-actuated catch36, adapted to engage any one of a series of notches 37 inthe segmentalplates 38, between which the said levers are pivotally mounted. It willbe seen that by operating one of the said levers the push-bar 7, ateither end of the car, may be thrown in'a forward direction and retainedin the position to which it is adjusted by placing the spring-catch 36in engagement with one of the notches 37.

At one end of the car is arranged a vertical brake-rod 39, provided atits upper end with a hand-wheel 40, by means of which it may beoperated. Suitably attached to the said brake-bar near its lower end isa chain 41, which is connected by means of a linkrod 42 with one end ofthe lever 19, so that by operating the said brake-rod to wind the chain41 thereon thelever 19 may be operated to set the brakes.Pawl-andmatchet mechanism, as shown at 43 44, is to be employed, whendesired, for the purpose of keeping the brakes set. This mechanism forsetting the brakes by hand may, when desired, be duplicated at the otherend of the car; but in the drawings hereto annexed I have shown it atone end only, this being sufficient to the operation of the device underordinary circumstances.

In Figs. 6, 7, and 8 of the drawings I have shown my improved brakemechanism as applied to a locomotive-tender. In these figures 45designates the rear sill of the tenderframe, which is provided withdownward-extending plate 46, having the slot 47 for the passage of thepush-bar. The latter, which is designated by 48, is provided on itsunder side with an extension-bar 49, the outer end of which is providedwith a downward-extending head or contact-plate 50. It may here bestated that the reason why I extend the contact-plates downwardly fromthe pushbarsis in order to place them out of the way of thecoupling-pins when pins of great or unusual length are used. Theextension-bar 49 is connected with the push-bar 48 by means of stirrups51, and a vertical pin 52 is arranged in aligned perforations 53 inthe'pushbar and extension-rod to secure the latter at any desiredadjustment. The extension-rod is used in connection with the push-barupon the tender only for the reason that sometimes coupling-links ofunusual length are employed, and it then becomes necessary to extend thepush-bar in order to render the brake mechanism operative.

The rear or inner end of the push-bar 48 is extended upwardly, as shownat 54, and is connected with the downward-extending arm of a bifurcatedlever 55, the upward-extending arms of which 56 are placed at an obtuseangle to the said downward-extending arms. The upper ends of the arms 56are connected with the tender-frame by means of springs 57, the functionof which is to automatically release the brakes. Ohains 58, which arelikewise attached to the upper ends of the arms 56, are passed aroundpulleys 59 and attached to the ends of a cross-sill 60, which is securedat the projecting end of the piston-rod 61, the piston of which 62 ismounted in a cylinder 63, to which steam may be supplied through a pipe64 from the boiler of the engine. The tender is provided withindependent brake mechanism operated independently by the piston andpiston-rod 65 66 in a cylinder 67, which is supplied with steam througha branch 68 of the pipe 64, which said branch is smaller than the mainpipe 64. This, as will be seen, is the ordinary steam-brake now employedand no novelty is claimed for it per se in the present application.

The operation of myinvention is as follows: When it is desired to setthe brakes upon a train of cars attached to the engine, the engineeradmits steam into the cylinders 67 and 63, thus setting the brakemechanism of the tender and causing the piston and piston-rod in thecylinder 63 to be forced in an outward direction, thus transmittingmotion through the chains 58 and lever 55 to the push-bar 48, whichlatter, with its extension 49, is forced in an outward direction. Thebrakes having been applied to the wheels of the tender, the speed of thelatter becomes slackened and the push-bar, or, more properly, theextension of the latter, will come into contact with the adjacentpush-bar of the next car in the train by the momentum of the car, whichcauses it to run forward while the speed of the tender is slackened.Said push-bar being forced in an inward direction will actuate thenearest lever 13, thus pulling upon the chain 15,which is connected atthe outer end of said lever, the chain 15, connected to the perforation14 nearer the fulcrum of said lever,beingmeanwhile slack. Motion willthus be communicated through the medium of the connectingrod 17 andchain 20, having the coiled spring 21, to the lever 19, which is thusactuated to set the brakes of the first car. At the same IIO . It willthus be seen that the lever 13 at the rear end of the car will swing toa greater extent than the lever 13 at the front end of said car,consequently causing the push-bar 7 at the rear endiof the car totbemoved outward from its normal position farther than the push-bar 7 atthe front end of the car is moved inward from its normal position. ThisI consider a very important feature of my invention, for the reason thatowing to imperfect connec tions there is always more or less lost 1notion between the individual cars of a train as well as in the individualbrake mechanisms. Oonsequentlyif it were not for theimproved arrangementherein described,whereby the rear push-bar has a greater range ofmovement than the front push-bar, the brakes might be set tightly uponthe first car of a train, while little or no motion would be transmittedto the last cars of the train. It is obvious that the operation as herestated will take place from either end of the car, the mechanism beingsuch that the car is reversibleend for end.

When it is desired to set the brakes by hand, the lever 85 at the rearend of the first car is first actuated to throw the push-bar in anoutward direction. The brake mechanism is then set by hand by means ofthe brakerod 39, and the operation above described is practicallyrepeated.

It will be observed that the rear end of the push-bar of thelocomotive-tender is turned in an upward direction for connection withthe downward-extending arm of the lever 55. The result is that when thesaid push-bar is thrown in an outward direction by the steamactuatedmechanism herein described and the said push-bar or its extensionreceives the impact of the push-bar of the next car in the train theprincipal strain will be upon the fulcrum of the lever 55, which is bestfitted to resist such strain.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawingshereto annexed, the operation and advantages of my invention will bereadily understood by those skilled in the art to which it appertains.

The general construction of my improved automatic brake mechanism issimple and of such a nature as to be capable of being easily applied tocar-trucks already provided with hand-brake mechanism of ordinaryconstruction. My improved brake mechanism, furthermore, is certain inoperation and is not liable to get out of order.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. In an automatic brakemechanism for railroadcars, the combination of the brakebars suspendedbysuitable hangers, the levers extending from said brake-bars, a leverpivoted horizontally centrally under the can frame, rods connecting theends of said lever with the levers extending from the brake-bars, andsuitable connections between the ends of the horizontal lever andpush-bars mounted to slide longitudinally under the draw-head at theends of the car-frame, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a car-brake, the combination of the car-frame, the vertical platessecured under the main sills of the same, the push -bars mounted toslide longitudinally in slots in the said plates, braces connecting thelower ends of the latter with the center sills of the car and havingboxes or bearings at their upper ends, the bifurcated levers mounted insaid boxes or bearings and connected pivotally at their lower ends withthe said push-bars, and suitable connections between the upward-extending arms of said levers and the brake mechanism, substantially asand for the purpose set forth.

3. In a car-brake, the combination, with the car-frame, of thelongitudinally-sliding pushbars at the ends of the frame, the brakemechanism, levers connected with and actuated by the push-bars, a leverconnected with and actuating the brake mechanism, connectingrodsconnected directly with the brake-actuatirig lever, and chainsconnecting each connecting-rod with one of the levers actuated by thepush-bars at different distances from the fulcrums of said levers,substantially as set forth.

4. In a car-brake, the combination of the push-bars, the bifurcated.levers connected with and actuated by said pushbars, the chains attachedto the forked arms of said levers at different distances from their fulcrums, the rods connected with said chains, the horizontal leverconnected with said rods, and the brake mechanism connected with andactuated by said horizontal lever, substantially as set forth.

5. In a car-brake, the combination of the brake-bars mounted in suitablehangers, the link-rods connecting said brake-bars with a lever pivotedhorizontally under the carframe, the longitudinally-sliding push-bars atthe ends of the car-frame, and the rods and links forming connectionsbetween the bifurcated levers actuated by the said push-bars, and thehorizontal brake-operating lever, substantially as set forth.

6. In a car-brake, the combination of the brake-bars, a lever mountedhorizontally under the car-frame, linkrods connecting the ends of saidlever with the brake-bars, the horizontal sliding push-bars arrangedunder the ends of the car, the bifurcated levers connected with saidpush-bars, the link-rods each having its ends connected by two separatechains with the upward-extending arms of the bifurcated levers atdifferent distances from the fulcrums of said levers, and the chainshaving interposed springs connecting the said link-rods with the ends ofthe horizontal brake-operatin g lever, substantially as set forth.

7. In a car-brake, the combination, with the brake-actuating push-barsmounted to slide horizontally under the end sills of the carframe andprovided with pulleys at their rear ends, of chains attached to theunder sides of the end sills, passing over the pulleys at the rear endsof the push-bars, over suitable guide-p ulleys, upward throughperforations in the end sills, and attached to operating-levers by meansof which the said push-bars maybe thrown in an outward or forwarddirection, substantially as set forth.

8. In a car-brake, the combination of the brake-bars mounted in suitablehangers, linkrods connecting the said brake-bars with the ends of alever mounted horizontally under the car-frame, the horizontally-slidingpushbars mounted under the ends of the car-frame, the bifurcated leversconnected with said push-bars, link-rods and chains connecting the saidlevers, the chains having interposed springs connecting the link-rodswith the horizontal brake-operating lever, and mechanism for throwingthe said brake-actuating pushbars in an outward or forward direction,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

9. In a car-brake, the combination of the brake-bars suspended insuitable hangers under the car-frames, horizontal levers mounted underthe car-frames, the link-rods connecting the ends of the said leverswith the brakebars, the horizontally-sliding push-bars ar-' ranged underthe ends of the car-frames, the bifurcated levers connected with saidpushbars, the rods and chains connecting the said bifurcated levers, thechains having interposed springs connecting the connecting-rods with thebrake-actuating levers, the springs the push-bar in an outward orforward direc tion, substantially as and for the purpose set forth. I v

11. In a car-brake, the combination, with a push-bar arranged to slidelongitudinally under the tender, of a longitudinally-adjustableextension-bar mounted upon the said pushbar, and mechanism for throwingthe latter in 'an outward and forward direction against the tension of aretracting-spring, substantially as set forth. v

12. In a car-brake, the combination of the brake mechanism arrangedunder the cars, the longitudinallysliding push bars connected with saidbrake mechanism to actuate thev latter, mechanism whereby the rearpushbar shall be moved outwardly a greater distance than the inwardmovement of the front push-bar, a push-bar mounted'under theengine-tender, and mechanism for throwing the latter push-bar in anoutward or forward direction against the tension of a retractingspring,substantially as and for the purpose set forth. v

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN P. CLANOY. Witnesses:

J. O. MORROW, EDWARD L. RUTHERFORD.

